The Secret (Boston's Best 1)

Chapter Sixty-One

Maddie

"So?" I look at Matt, giddy.

He raises his eyebrows, "So, what?"

"What do you think?"

He shrugs and looks at me weirdly. "I don't know, Mads. It's just coffee. I mean it's good, but it tastes basically the same to me as a Dunkin'."

"I cannot believe you just said that. That's like the most horrible thing someone has ever said to me."

I think I stunned him to silence with that because he just stares at me like I just grew an extra head right in front of his eyes.

"It's just coffee, no?"

I hold my heart, "No. No, Matt. It's not just coffee. It's Sarah-Grace's very own blend of it. She created this masterpiece herself. And it is so top secret that she still hasn't branched out from her little cart here at the Gaelic pitch."

I've been bringing him on a tour around the town that I'm from the past two days, bringing him to all of my favourite spots.

I won't lie I've been pretty depressed the past week since I heard the news and realised how much attention was on this case.

I only left my room for food and the bathroom, and not to shower I stank by the end of it all.

The more I looked into what was going on in the media and what was being said about me, the more I curled into a ball and never wanted to leave. It got so bad that after like five or six days of Matt and Aebhín being caring and kind to me, they decided that enough was enough and they dragged me into the shower and gave me a little pep talk.

I snapped out of my buzz and here we are. Enjoying my life as it comes and not thinking about the Johnsons or anyone else in that part of my life.

No bad vibes for me.

But this specific stop on the tour is at my old Gaelic club, and coincidently where the best coffee in the whole world is.

Matt raises his arms up, "Hey, I never said it was bad. It's good, just not mind-blowing. But I'm not really a big coffee person, so what do I know?"

"Nothing." I dump my empty cup in the bin and snatch his mostly full one out of his hands. "You know nothing."

"Okay, then." He looks like he's trying to hold back a laugh.

We walk out of the pitch and we end up just aimlessly walking around the town, talking and laughing and just enjoying each other's company.

After Seán and everything that happened there, I never thought that I would find it within me to love someone as much as I do for Matt. And to find someone who never once questioned my reservations and patiently waited for me to come to them and explain my issues, is incredible.

Matt is incredible.

It's literally like someone designed my perfect man or he just stepped right out of a rom-com and I don't think I'll ever truly come to terms with the fact that he's mine. That while he is not my first love, he is the first person I truly fell in love with.

We walk hand in hand and as we near the edge of town for the first time in three years I don't run away and try to defuse myself from the situation. I just steer him to the left and breathe.

"Where are we going?" He asks, questioning my sudden abruptness.

I look into his eyes, "I want you to meet my dad and brother."

If he's shocked or taken aback by that statement, he does a damn good job at hiding it.

"That would be amazing."